B.C. avalanche kills snowmobiler

A snowmobiler was killed in an avalanche near Whistler, B.C. on Tuesday afternoon.

RCMP say they were notified just after 3:30 p.m. PT that an avalanche had occurred in the Grizzly Lake area on Powder Mountain south of Whistler.

A group of five men were snowmobiling in the area when two of them attempted to climb a steep snow-laden slope. The two snowmobilers triggered a large avalanche burying one of the two men, Staff Sgt. Steve le Clair said in a release late Tuesday.

Le Clair said the man’s companions managed to dig him out after about 20 minutes, but he was unconscious, not breathing and had no pulse.

They started CPR and continued until search and a rescue team and police arrived by helicopter.

The victim, described as a 44-year-old man from Squamish, B.C., was later pronounced dead at the Whistler Health Centre.

Earlier reports said the snowmobiler had survived after he’d been dug out.